METHODS PROVIDING MICROBIAL SUPPRESSION IN BUFFER LAYER BENTONITES UNDER RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL CONDITIONS

The paper evaluates the reduction of microbial activity in bentonite materials from Taganskoe and 10th Khutor deposits via their compaction and introduction of biocidal additives. The study shows that CO2 is most intensively released at clay compaction density of up to 1.2 g/cm³ for both of the studied bentonites. At a matrix density of 1.45 g/cm³, carbon dioxide was releasing much more intensively from sample 10Kh-98 compared to T-103 in the first month of the experiment. At a matrix density of 1.7 g/cm³, no differences were observed between bentonites from different deposits. The study shows that the most promising biocidal additive for the studied clay materials is PHMG at a concentration of 0.5 wt. % reducing the microbial activity by more than 10 times and affecting in no way the f iltration-diffusion properties of the materials.

Keywords: deep geological repository, buffer layer, compacted bentonite materials, microbial activity, biocidal additives, radioactive waste.

Cheptsov V. S., Tolpeshta I. I., Izosimova Yu. G., Abramova E. S., Safonov A. V., Zakusina A. V., Koro leva T. A., Pozdnyakov L. A., Krupskaya V. V. Methods Providing Microbial Suppression in Buffer Layer Bentonites under Radioactive Waste Disposal Conditions. Radioactive Waste, 2025, no. 2 (31), pp. 86—101. DOI: 10.25283/2587-9707-2025-2-86-101. (In Russian).